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Exiting China: Deregistration Reform Under the Enterprise Deregistration Guide (2025 Revision)

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  • The Enterprise Deregistration Guide (2025 Revision), jointly issued by SAMR and five other departments, is being implemented across localities in 2026 through simplified procedures, agency (“da wei”) deregistration and integrated “one-stop” services.
    市场监管总局等六部门发布的《企业注销指引（2025 年修订）》2026 年在各地落地执行，配套简易注销、代为注销与”一件事”集成办理。
  • Under the 2025 Revision, directors — not shareholders — are the primary liquidation obligors for companies; a director who fails to organise liquidation may bear compensatory liability.
    依 2025 年修订版，公司清算义务人调整为董事（原为股东）；董事怠于组织清算造成企业、债权人损失的，须承担赔偿责任。
  • Agency deregistration solves the “impossible exit” deadlock: where a shareholder has died, been deregistered or been dissolved, its successor or investors may apply for deregistration on its behalf.
    代为注销破解”退出无门”僵局：自然人股东死亡的由继承人办理，法人股东注销或被撤销的由继受主体或投资人代为办理注销登记。
  • Simplified deregistration now uses a 20-day publicity period (down from 45 days), with a 20-day filing window after publicity, extendable up to 30 days; the whole process can finish in around 50 days.
    简易注销公示期由 45 天压减为 20 天，公示期满后 20 天内申请、可适当延长至多 30 天，全程最长约 50 天。
  • Tax clearance is the precondition: land value-added tax settlement, annual CIT final settlement and all social insurance arrears must be cleared before deregistration; pre-check services on the e-tax platform flag outstanding items.
    清税是注销前置条件：土地增值税清算、年度企业所得税汇算清缴、全部社保欠费须结清后方可启动；电子税务局提供注销预检服务提前排查未办结事项。
  • For foreign-invested enterprises, the 2025 Revision and the Company Law’s director-obligor rule matter in practice: WFOE dissolution should name liquidation directors early, clear customs/tax records first, and use the 20-day publicity track where debts are fully settled.
    对外资企业，2025 年修订版与新《公司法》的董事义务规则实操意义重大：外商独资企业解散应尽早确定清算董事、先清海关与税务记录，债权债务已结清的走 20 天公示通道。

Exiting China: Deregistration Reform Under the Enterprise Deregistration Guide (2025 Revision) | 退出中国市场：依《企业注销指引（2025 年修订）》办理注销改革

Why this matters now

In late 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) together with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the People’s Bank of China, the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration issued the Enterprise Deregistration Guide (2025 Revision), published as Announcement No. 52 of 2025. During 2026, market regulators nationwide have been implementing it through special guidance, “one-stop” integrated services and agency deregistration mechanisms. The China Market Regulation News reported in August 2026 on how localities are rolling out “agency deregistration” (dai wei zhu xiao), the Chifeng Municipal Market Regulation Bureau issued a special-circumstances deregistration guidance in August 2026, and Foshan issued a specific deregistration procedure for domestic and foreign-invested companies. For foreign investors holding WFOEs or joint ventures that have reached the end of their life cycle, the 2025 Revision restructures the exit path: clearer liquidation duties, a shortened simplified-publicity track and standardised solutions for the classic deadlock cases. This article explains the key changes and their practical application to foreign-invested companies.

The new exit architecture

The Guide organises market exit around three core stages: resolution to dissolve, liquidation and distribution, and deregistration registration. Dissolution triggers include voluntary cases (expiry of the articles, shareholders’ resolution, merger or division) and compulsory cases (revocation of licence, court-ordered dissolution). Within ten days of the dissolution event, the enterprise must publicise the dissolution on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. Liquidation is a statutory obligation: except in merger or division cases, liquidation must precede deregistration registration.

The most significant structural change is the identity of the liquidation obligor. Under the new Company Law (effective 1 July 2024) and the 2025 Revision, directors are the liquidation obligors for companies. The liquidation group is normally composed of directors, unless the articles or the shareholders’ meeting select other persons. Where a director fails to organise liquidation and thereby causes loss to the enterprise or creditors, the director bears compensatory liability. This shifts personal risk onto board members and matters directly to foreign-appointed directors of WFOEs.

Agency deregistration for deadlock cases

A second headline change is the national adoption of agency deregistration for the “impossible exit” cases. Where a natural-person shareholder has died, a legal-person shareholder has itself been deregistered or dissolved, or a competent authority has been abolished through institutional reform, the traditional “who established, who deregisters” rule left the company trapped. Under the Company Registration Administrative Measures (effective 10 February 2025) and the 2025 Revision, the lawful successor or investor may apply for deregistration on behalf of the absent shareholder: the heirs of a deceased natural-person shareholder, or the successor body or investors of a dissolved legal-person shareholder. Localities such as Fujian and Heilongjiang have issued detailed implementation guidance. For foreign-invested companies with complex shareholder chains — including offshore holding entities that have been wound up — this mechanism provides a practical path that did not exist before.

Simplified deregistration and tax pre-checks

The 2025 Revision shortens the simplified deregistration publicity period from 45 days to 20 days, adds a 20-day filing window after publicity (extendable to a maximum of 30 days), and establishes a fault-tolerance mechanism: where publicity was launched but the company is later found unsuitable for simplified deregistration (e.g. abnormal operation list, frozen or pledged equity, un-deregistered branches), the publicity need not be revoked; once the abnormal status is cured, the company can apply again on the same publicity. For individual businesses, no publicity is required at all. On the tax side, the e-tax platform now offers a deregistration pre-check service, and the preconditions are explicit: land value-added tax settlement, annual corporate income tax final settlement and all social insurance arrears must be cleared before the process starts. Tax authorities do not object to simplified deregistration where the taxpayer never handled tax matters, handled them but never received invoices and has no arrears, or has already completed invoice cancellation and tax clearance.

Application to foreign-invested enterprises

For a foreign-invested enterprise, the practical sequence is: first, confirm the dissolution trigger and publicise within ten days; second, constitute a liquidation group of directors (or persons selected under the articles) and register the group information within ten days, publishing the creditors’ announcement within 60 days for a 45-day period; third, clear tax and customs records — including VAT, export duty refunds, invoice and tax-control device cancellation, and customs filing cancellation for companies with import-export records; fourth, settle employees’ wages, social insurance and compensation; fifth, distribute remaining assets in the statutory order; sixth, file the liquidation report approved by the shareholders’ meeting (or court) and apply for deregistration. Where the company has no outstanding debts, the simplified track applies: no full liquidation report is needed beyond the investors’ commitment letter and a 20-day publicity. Cross-border specifics include the closing of the foreign exchange settlement account, cancellation of the capital account and, for listed or foreign-funded financial institutions, coordination with the relevant financial regulator.

Compliance notes

The 2025 Revision implements the new Company Law, so the director-obligor rule applies to companies established before the new law took effect as well, in respect of liquidation triggered after that date. Foreign-appointed directors should confirm D&O insurance covers liquidation duties. Deadlines are real: the ten-day publicity window for dissolution, the ten-day liquidation-group registration window and the 45-day creditors’ announcement period should be calendared. Finally, the Guide is national policy; local bureaus may apply procedural details differently, so confirm with the local SAMR bureau and tax authority before starting.

退出中国市场：依《企业注销指引（2025 年修订）》办理注销改革

为什么当下重要

2025 年底，市场监管总局会同公安部、人力资源社会保障部、中国人民银行、海关总署、税务总局发布《企业注销指引（2025 年修订）》（2025 年第 52 号公告）。2026 年，全国市场监管部门通过专项指引、”一件事”集成办理与代为注销机制推进落地。《中国市场监管报》2026 年 8 月报道各地开展”代为注销”工作；赤峰市市场监督管理局 2026 年 8 月发布特殊情形注销办理指引；佛山市发布内资、外资公司注销登记规范。对持有外商独资企业或合资企业、企业生命周期走到尽头的境外投资者，2025 年修订版重构了退出路径：清算义务更清晰、简易公示通道缩短、经典僵局有了标准化解决方案。本文解释关键变化及对外资企业的实操应用。

新的退出架构

指引把市场退出组织为三大核心环节：决议解散、清算分配、注销登记。解散事由包括自愿解散（章程到期、股东会决议、合并分立）与强制解散（吊销执照、法院判决解散）。解散事由出现后 10 日内，企业应在国家企业信用信息公示系统公示解散事由。清算是法定义务：除合并、分立情形外，解散之后必须清算才能办理注销登记。

最重要的结构性变化是清算义务人身份。依新《公司法》（2024 年 7 月 1 日施行）与 2025 年修订版，公司清算义务人为董事。清算组原则上由董事组成，章程或股东会可另选他人。董事怠于组织清算，造成企业、债权人损失的，须承担赔偿责任。这使个人风险落到董事会成员身上，与外商独资企业的外方委派董事直接相关。

僵局情形的代为注销

第二个标志性变化是在全国层面引入”代为注销”，处理”退出无门”情形。自然人股东死亡、法人股东自身已注销或被撤销、主管部门因机构改革被撤销时，传统”谁设立、谁注销”规则使企业陷入死循环。依《公司登记管理实施办法》（2025 年 2 月 10 日施行）与 2025 年修订版，合法继受主体或投资人可代为办理注销：自然人股东死亡的由继承人办理，法人股东注销或被撤销的由继受主体或投资人办理。福建、黑龙江等省已出台细化实施规范。对股东链条复杂、包括境外控股实体已清算的外资企业，这一机制提供了此前不存在的可行路径。

简易注销与税务预检

2025 年修订版将简易注销公示期由 45 天压减为 20 天，增加公示期满后 20 天的申请期限（可延长至最多 30 天），并建立容错机制：已公示但事后发现不适用简易注销（如列入经营异常名录、股权被冻结或出质、分支机构未注销）的，无需撤销公示，待异常状态消除后可在原公示基础上再次申请。个体工商户无需公示。税务端，电子税务局提供注销预检服务，前置事项明确：土地增值税清算、年度企业所得税汇算清缴、全部社保欠费必须结清。未办理过涉税事宜、或办理过但未领用发票且无欠税、或已办结缴销发票与清税手续的纳税人，税务部门对简易注销不提异议。

对外资企业的实操应用

外资企业办理注销的实际顺序是：其一，确认解散事由并在 10 日内公示；其二，组成董事清算组（或章程选任人员），10 日内登记清算组信息，60 日内发布债权人公告、公告期 45 天；其三，清税并办理海关手续——包括增值税、出口退税结清、发票与税控设备缴销，以及有进出口记录企业的海关备案注销；其四，结清职工工资、社保与补偿金；其五，按法定顺序分配剩余财产；其六，提交经股东会（或法院）确认的清算报告并申请注销登记。公司无未清偿债务的走简易通道：除投资人承诺书与 20 天公示外无需完整清算报告。跨境事项包括外汇结算账户与资本项目账户销户，上市或外资金融机构还需与相关金融监管部门协调。

合规提示

2025 年修订版实施新《公司法》，董事义务规则同样适用于新法施行前设立的公司（针对新法施行后触发清算的情形）。外方委派的董事应确认董事责任险覆盖清算义务。时限是真实的：解散事由 10 日公示、清算组 10 日登记、债权人公告 45 日都应列入日历。最后，指引是全国性政策，地方部门在程序细节上可能不同，启动前务必与当地市场监管部门与税务机关确认。

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